Now seems like a good time to confess: I don’t wear a mask while running or biking. My neighborhood streets and parks are sparsely populated. It’s easy for me to give people a berth of far more than 10 feet when I do see them.
Not wearing a mask does have consequences, though. If another person does spring up at me, I panic. If you approach me as I’m running or biking, I will turn perpendicular to the trail and leap directly into some shrubbery, like a Monty Python character or hapless rom-com heroine.
If this is also your social distancing strategy, you might be looking for an electric bike that can transition easily from long-distance commuting to fun weekend rides that may or may not involve some unexpected jouncing. I recommend the Specialized Turbo Vado SL, but if that's a little expensive and you don't need quite as much power, the Cannondale Quick Neo SL 1 is also a fun, speedy, and sometimes confusing ride.
If a hybrid bike is a combination of a mountain bike and a road bike, then this Cannondale ebike falls somewhere on the spectrum between a hybrid fitness bike and a casual cruiser like the Electra Townie Path Go.
Like a casual cruiser, the Quick Neo SL 1 Remixte I tested has a step-through frame to make it easier for newbies, especially short ones, to hop on. There is a larger SL 1 and SL 2 model that have step-over frames. The SL 1 also has a few upgrades over the SL 2 that result in a slightly bigger price tag, like one more gear and a front light.
But the Quick Neo's resemblance to a cruiser is mostly superficial. The battery is integrated into the lightweight aluminum frame. It looks pretty much like a regular bike, weighing in at a petite 34 pounds. It has a shock-absorbing carbon-fiber fork, straight mountain-bike-style handlebars, and sturdy Schwalbe tires. River City Bicycles lent me a small tester, which fit my 5'2" frame perfectly. It looks and feels mostly like a sporty fitness bike.
I don’t commute to work (now or ever) unfortunately, but I did ride it around town on errands and through dirt and gravel trails in parks near my house. The Quick Neo is a class 1 ebike, which means that it provides electric assistance up to 20 miles per hour. I cranked up the Shimano nine-speed gearing system and got it easily and happily up to 20 mph on a flat, clear road by my house, according to my Apple Watch.